Load drive device, semiconductor device, load drive system and vehicle

Abstract

A driver IC (100) includes a pair of output terminals in each of a plurality of channels and in each of the channels, power is supplied from the pair of output terminals (OUT1 and OUT2, OUT3 and OUT4, OUT5 and OUT6 or OUT7 and OUT8) to a load (M1, M2, M3 or M4). In each of the channels, the pair of output terminals are adjacent to each other.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A load drive device comprising:
 a pair of output terminals in each of a plurality of channels, wherein, in each of the channels, power can be supplied from the pair of output terminals to a load, wherein in each of two or more channels included in the plurality of channels, the pair of output terminals are arranged adjacent to each other, 
 wherein in two target channels which are included in the two or more channels and in which the corresponding output terminals are provided on a same surface of a housing of the load drive device, between a pair of output terminals forming one of the target channels and a pair of output terminals forming the other target channel, one or more terminals different from the output terminals are arranged, 
 the load drive device further comprising:
 one or more first power supply terminals which receive supply of a first voltage; 
 one or more second power supply terminals which receive supply of a second voltage different from the first voltage; 
 a ground terminal which is kept at a predetermined reference potential; 
 a plurality of external connection terminals which are connected to an external device for the load drive device; and 
 a separate terminal which is different from the first power supply terminal, the second power supply terminal, the ground terminal and the external connection terminals, 
 wherein, in each of the channels, power based on the first voltage is supplied from the pair of output terminals to the load, 
 the second voltage itself or a signal based on the second voltage is applied to the external connection terminals, 
 on the same surface, a first terminal group which includes a pair of output terminals forming any one of the plurality of channels and which is formed with a plurality of terminals that are aligned adjacent to each other and a second terminal group which includes one or more of the external connection terminals and which is formed with a plurality of other terminals that are aligned adjacent to each other are provided, and 
 one or more of the separate terminals are arranged between the first terminal group and the second terminal group. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The load drive device according to  claim 1 , wherein the first terminal group further includes the first power supply terminal. 
     
     
       3. The load drive device according to  claim 1 , wherein the second terminal group includes two or more of the external connection terminals. 
     
     
       4. The load drive device according to  claim 1 , wherein the second terminal group further includes the second power supply terminal. 
     
     
       5. The load drive device according to  claim 1 , wherein the first voltage is higher than the second voltage, and
 between the first terminal group and the second terminal group, the separate terminal arranged adjacent to the first terminal group has a withstand voltage equal to or higher than the first voltage. 
 
     
     
       6. The load drive device according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a control circuit which includes, for each of the output terminals, an output circuit for supplying power to the load and which controls the output circuits, 
 wherein the control circuit includes a write storage portion into which state specifying data that specifies a state of each of the output circuits is written, 
 writes the state specifying data into the write storage portion based on a predetermined command signal which is received from the external device through any one or more of the plurality of external connection terminals and
 performs state control on each of the output circuits based on the state specifying data in the write storage portion and 
 
 a storage region corresponding to a predetermined bit number is provided in the write storage portion for each of the channels as a storage bit of the state specifying data. 
 
     
     
       7. The load drive device according to  claim 6 ,
 wherein in the write storage portion, a write memory space corresponding to w bits is defined, 
 w has a value which is equal to or more than a product of an integer greater than a number of the channels and the predetermined bit number and 
 a dummy memory space which does not affect a state of the load drive device including the output circuits and which corresponds to an integral multiple of the predetermined bit number is present in the wright memory space. 
 
     
     
       8. The load drive device according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a control circuit which includes, for each of the output terminals, an output circuit for supplying power to the load and which controls the output circuits, 
 wherein the control circuit
 includes a read storage portion in which state data that indicates a state of each of the output circuits is stored, 
 reads, when receiving a predetermined command signal from the external device through any one or more of the plurality of external connection terminals, the state data from the read storage portion and 
 outputs the read state data through any one or more of the plurality of external connection terminals, and 
 
 a storage region corresponding to a predetermined bit number is provided in the read storage portion for each of the channels as a storage bit of the state data. 
 
     
     
       9. The load drive device according to  claim 8 ,
 wherein in the read storage portion, a read memory space corresponding to r bits is defined, 
 r has a value which is equal to or more than a product of an integer greater than a number of the channels and the predetermined bit number and 
 a dummy memory space from which a fixed value is read based on the command signal and which corresponds to an integral multiple of the predetermined bit number is present in the read memory space. 
 
     
     
       10. A semiconductor device which forms the load drive device according to  claim 1 , wherein the load drive device is formed with an integrated circuit. 
     
     
       11. The semiconductor device according to  claim 10 , wherein a dissipation pad is provided on a housing in which the integrated circuit is sealed. 
     
     
       12. A load drive system comprising:
 the load drive device according to  claim 1 ; and 
 a processing device which is connected to the load drive device through the plurality of external connection terminals in the load drive device and which serves as the external device. 
 
     
     
       13. A vehicle in which the load drive system according to  claim 12  is mounted.